Many components in a jet engine are designed and manufactured to withstand relatively high temperatures. Included among these components are the turbine blades, vanes, and nozzles that make up the turbine engine section of the jet engine. In many instances, various types of welding processes are used during the manufacture of the components, and to repair the components following a period of usage. In addition, other non-aerospace applications such as, for example, industrial and commercial tooling and die maintenance may also benefit from the laser welding repair process. Moreover, various types of welding technologies and techniques may be used to implement these various welding processes. However, one particular type of welding technology that has found increased usage in recent years is laser welding technology.
Laser welding technology uses a high power laser to manufacture parts, components, subassemblies, and assemblies, and to repair or dimensionally restore worn or damaged parts, components, subassemblies, and assemblies. In general, when a laser welding process is employed, laser light of sufficient intensity to form a melt pool is directed onto the surface of a metal work piece, while a filler material, such as powder, wire, or rod, is introduced into the melt pool. Until recently, such laser welding processes have been implemented using automated laser welding machines. These machines are relatively large, and are configured to run along one or more preprogrammed paths.
Although programmable laser welding machines, such as that described above, are generally reliable, these machines do suffer certain drawbacks. For example, a user may not be able to manipulate the laser light or work piece, as may be needed, during the welding process. This can be problematic for weld processes that involve the repair or manufacture of parts having extensive curvature and/or irregular or random distributed defect areas. Thus, in order to repair or manufacture parts of this type, the Assignee of the present application developed a portable, hand-held laser welding wand. Among other things, this hand-held laser welding wand allows independent and manual manipulation of the laser light, the filler material, and/or the work piece during the welding process. An exemplary embodiment of the hand-held laser welding wand is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,540, which is entitled “Hand Held Powder-Fed Laser Fusion Welding Torch,” and the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The hand-held laser welding wand, such as the one described above, provides the capability to perform manual 3-D adaptive laser welding on components. During use, the wand may be coupled to various support subsystems. For example, the wand may receive laser light, cooling fluid, filler media, and, in some instances, inert gas, from appropriate support subsystems. One or more of these subsystems may be installed in a work shop and not conveniently transportable. In some instances, welding operations using the hand-held laser welding wand may need to be performed in areas remote from a work shop environment. If one or more of the support subsystems are non-transportable, it may prohibit connecting the hand-held laser welding wand to the support subsystems, and potentially prevent its use.
Hence, there is a need for a support system for the hand-held laser welding wand that is fully transportable to areas remote from a work shop environment, so that the hand-held laser welding wand may be used at a remote work location. The present invention addresses at least this need.